This invention relates to an adjustable support strap for use in alleviating pain associated with a variety of conditions affecting the knee. Although the support strap of the present invention is specifically intended for use by athletes to correct deficiencies in patellar tracking and to treat patellar tendonitis, the support strap is equally suited for use in treating individuals who suffer from a variety of conditions affecting the knee and who require supplemental support to relieve pain and/or preserve the mobility of the knee joint. The support strap is thus suitable for alleviating the symptoms of several conditions including, but not limited to, injuries to the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, the medial and lateral collateral ligaments, and injuries that cause the various muscular etiologies of patellofemoral pain syndrome.
While prior art straps and other devices exist which attempt to alleviate pain associated with the knee, knee joint and related tissues, such devices seldom apply a sufficient amount of pressure to the affected area to adequately relieve the discomfort suffered by the wearer. To the extent such devices do manage to apply any pressure to the knee, such pressure is usually distributed equally across the device and is thus inefficiently and incorrectly applied to the knee. Furthermore, the manner in which the ends of prior art straps extend around the knee, overlap each other and are connected together compromises the maximum amount of pressure the strap is actually capable of achieving and applying to the knee. This is because a small amount of the tension achieved in the strap when the strap is stretched around the knee is inevitably lost when the wearer loosens his or her grip on one end of the strap so that the other end can be connected thereto.
The present invention overcomes the inadequacies of prior art devices by providing an adjustable support strap which utilizes elastomeric materials to apply pressure to specific aspects of an injured knee. The strap is adjusted using two separate mechanisms to create two levels of tension to be applied to the knee, without sacrificing the total amount of tension created when the ends of the strap are wrapped around the knee and connected together. The support strap has a narrow end that fits through a slit that extends through the other, wider end of the strap. Once the narrow end passes through the slit, the wearer adjusts the first level of tension by grasping and pulling on each end of the strap and then attaching the ends directly to the outer surface of the strap using male hook fastener patches which cling to the outer surface of the strap. The second level of tension is then adjusted using a supplemental tensioning device that permits the wearer to apply a concentrated amount of radially-directed pressure to a specific area of the knee to relieve specific symptoms associated with that area.